MMAWeekly.com first reported the bout, and MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) was able to confirm the agreement with Blackburn. Bout agreements have not yet been signed, but Blackburn feels the process is just a formality.

“I think it’s a great matchup for me,” Blackburn said. “It’s a fight where if I go in there and act like I’m supposed to, I should win.”

Blackburn began his career undefeated through his first five fights. The next five years saw mixed results for the California native. But Blackburn is 3-0 with one no-contest in his last four fights, and he feels he has turned a corner in his career.

“I’m training properly (now),” Blackburn said. “I’m not overwhelmed with other things. I was going through a nasty divorce. I was working two jobs trying to train when I got a chance to train. Like when I fought Roger Huerta, I wasn’t even training.”

Blackburn said his record is a bit deceiving when considering his current skill level.

“If people want to base my fighting off of how I’ve performed when I wasn’t prepared to even fight a mixed martial arts fight, I’m ready now,” Blackburn said. “People’s records aren’t going to help them when the bell rings. They’ve got to fight me in the shape that I’m in right now. And I’m ready to go for three solid rounds.

“I’ve always had the skills. But now I’m even better, and I can fight the whole time — which is the biggest thing. I couldn’t do that before. Normally I was tired before the first round was over. But I’m not a quitter, so I fight the whole time. But really I was in survivor mode.”

Blackburn said he plans to dispel any questions surrounding his game.

“I’m excited about the fight,” Blackburn said. “I can’t wait for the bell to ring. My goal right now is to get rid of question marks. And I feel with this I can get rid of a few more question marks about Brad with this fight.

“I can’t wait. I wish it was sooner, but I’ll be ready when it comes.”

Chonan has fought the full 15 minutes in each of his UFC appearances. Chonan dropped a unanimous decision to Karo Parisyan at UFC 78 in 2007, then returned to action earlier this month at UFC 88. There Chonan won a split decision over Roan Carneiro.

For the latest on the UFC 92, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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